Winter Song
by newsiesgirllaces
Summary: Ruari's life takes a turn for the worse when she finds out a mob boss wants her attention. She runs off in search of Dick and Jason, them being the few people she trusts. Who is the mob and why does it have Ruari so shaken up? Sequel to Once Upon Another Time. Pre-reboot
1. Chapter 1

**I love writing this character and I also love practicing new things, so please comment and tell me what you liked or didn't like. constructive criticism is wonder. Thank you! Enjoy!**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.1

A shiver ran through Ruari's spine as she stared at the grave. It was unusually cold for October and not to mention wet. If there was one thing Ruari hated more than cold weather, it was cold rain. However, nothing could stop her from attending the small funeral.

She knelt at the stone, alone since most of the other funeral attendants had left, and placed a red rose down in front of it. Etched into the marble stone was the name _Samantha Meyers. _

The large smile that was usually plastered on Ruari's face left no trace. Instead there was a deep frown and her eyebrows were furrowed.

"I thought we were safe." Ruari whispered. "That we were free. That all my shit was left behind us." Ruari shook her head, tears streaking her face. "If it weren't for me, you'd still be alive. Baby… I love you. I will always love you."

"Coming to her funeral was predictable. Bad move. Stupid, even." Ruari turned around to see one of the men responsible for Sam's death. He had a gun aimed at her. "Get up. Our boss wants to have a chat with you."

"I'll be contacting your boss under my own terms." Ruari stated, glaring at the man.

"Ha, I don't think so." The man reached his hand out and grabbed Ruari by the shoulder while he barked out a laugh.

In a matter of seconds, Ruari had freed herself, pocket knife in hand and several of the man's fingers on the ground.

"Love you babe, but I gotta run." Ruari said to the headstone and with that, she sprinted away.

Had she expected one of the men to find her? Yes. She actually depended on it. She had to ditch her car awhile back, and goons of mob bosses always seemed to have good taste in rides.

"A Porsche? For me? Aw, he was too kind." Ruari smirked a bit as she jumped into the driving seat. It didn't take much time for her to hotwire the car and the man had fainted from the sight of his own blood and missing fingers, so Ruari knew that she had time.

With a rev of the engine, Ruari sped off.

_I can't do this alone. _Ruari thought. _No matter how much I want to, I'm gonna need some help lying low for a while. And I know just who to go to. _

~*~*~*~In Gotham~*~*~*~

"You're such a light-weight Dickie Bird." Jason laughed as he chugged at his mug of beer.

"Am not!" Dick pouted, wavering a bit in the way he sat. The two were at a pub in Gotham. They had been on friendly terms for a while. Sure, they still had the occasional spat, but it was better than constantly fighting each other on the rooftops.

"You're such a liar. I'm cutting you off before you get so drunk I'll need to carry your pretty ass outta here." Jason smirked.

"Fine." Dick grumbled, staring at the empty glass in front of him. Jason sighed and called for the bartender, asking for a glass of water.

_Next time I'll reconsider taking Dick out drinking. He can't hold his liquor for shit. _Jason thought.

In the room over the karaoke blared loudly and Jason smirked at the girl singing. Maybe he could score her number. However, while he was being occupied by eyeing the girl, Dick seemed to be eyeing the karaoke machine.

After the song was over, Dick was next to sing and Jason pinched the bridge of his nose anticipating the future headache he was going to receive. He had heard Dick sing. It was far from pleasant.

Dick staggered on stage.

"_I come home in the morning light_

_My mother says when you gonna live your life right_

_Oh mother dear we're not the fortunate ones_

_And girls they want to have fun_

_Oh girls just want to have fun_"

Jason was pretty sure his "older brother" would have been booted off stage if it weren't for Dick ripping off his shirt causing the scream of girls to drown out his terrible singing.

_Dick could make it as a stripper. I'll give him that. _Jason thought.

By the end of the song, Jason got out of his seat, paid for their drinks, then dragged Dick off the stage.

"Jay, you can't take me away! I'm a Flying Grayson! I was born to perform!" he exclaimed, slurring some words.

"Then perform with something your good at. Be a pole dancer or something. Anything's better than listening to you sing. Now let's head to my safe house. You can crash there." Jason stated.

Dick pouted, but didn't say anything as they continued forward in the city streets. Jason saw his breath and shook his head.

_It's so cold for October._ He thought as a small shiver crept up his spine.

By the time they reached Jason's safe house, Dick was dead on his feet. Jason pushed him onto the couch, pulled of Dick's shoes, then draped a blanket over him.

"Sleep tight Dickie Bird." Jason smirked.

~*~*~*~Elsewhere~*~*~*~

"Damn gas guzzling Porsche." Rauri grumbled as she sat in a train. It had enough gas to get her to a train station and that was about it.

She had to get to Gotham and find Dick or Jason. When they last visited, Dick said that he was moving back to Gotham. That left her with the task of finding two men who were very good at not being found in one city.

_Relax Ruari. You got this. You've been in worse situations before and you survived. Don't get shaken up because Sam's gone. You can mourn later. Right now you have to get to safety. _Ruari thought.

She looked outside the window of the train and sighed heavily at how cold it looked outside.

_I hope I'll be able to find Dick and Jason soon. _She thought.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" Ruari looked up and saw a man in a suit and tie carrying a briefcase. She subtly doubled checked her pocket knife, but smiled at the man, shaking her head.

"No, sir. It's empty."

"May I sit here?"

"Uh, sure." the man was being polite. If it were one of the mob boss' men then he would have just plopped himself next to her without a word. However, she could never be too sure. She did grow up around the mob without really knowing it, but she remembered how certain family friends spoke and acted.

Ruari's eyes went to examining the man. He looked strong. Underneath the suit was some muscle. She also noticed some scarring on his knuckles and he wore well applied make up to cover up some injuries on his face. On his wrist, he wore a fancy watch. The watch was what threw her off.

If he was a working for a mob boss, he would not have a fancy watch. They'd spend the money on prostitutes, and drugs, but a watch? And yes, it was nice but it wasn't as gaudy as the usual goons liked. Not to mention that it was old. Almost like a relative passed it down.

No, this man looked like the real deal business man.

_He must've gotten into an accident since he's trying to cover whatever bruising he got on his face. _

"Can I help you?" the man inquired. It wasn't said harshly, only inquisitively. He must have notice how she was staring at him.

"Oh… sorry. You just look really familiar is all." Ruari lied, trying to think of a plausible excuse for staring.

The man smiled a small smile at her. One of those 'I know something you don't know' type of smiles.

"I get that a lot." He said, then looked out the window. Ruari didn't want the silence again. Conversation was distracting. The more to distract her from Sam's death the better.

"So… Sir, why are you heading to Gotham? Got family there?" Ruari inquired.

"Well, my sons live there and so do I." the man informed. Ruari smiled at him and said,

"Oh, so are you getting back from a business trip?"

"Yes, but I can only take so much of Metropolis." The man grunted, frowning for a moment, but then he smiled at Ruari, exuding charm. "Why are you headed to Gotham? Do you also live there?" Ruari was about to say yes, but faltered. She didn't have a home really. Shaking her head, Ruari tried to push that thought out of her head.

"No. I'm looking for my two friends. See, I kinda got into some trouble and I need people I can trust to help. So… that's pretty much my best option." She shrugged. "Oh, sorry I haven't introduced myself. My name's Ruari Eve Whelan. What's yours?" Ruari questioned, extending her small hand for him to shake. The man continued to grin as he reached out and shook her hand firmly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Whelan. My name is Bruce. Bruce Wayne."


	2. Chapter 2

Chpt.2

"Ugh. I'm not feeling too good." Dick groaned on Jason's couch. The sunlight shined through the window, streaming across his face and making the man groan in pain and pull the blanket draped over him, over his face.

"I told you to drink water, but do you listen to the experienced Drinker? Noooo." Jason sighed. "Look at me. I'm Dick Grayson and I have a nice ass and I'm perfect. I won't get a hangover who needs water." Jason laughed, shaking his head. "You really are an idiot."

"Bite me." Dick grunted, wrapping the blanket around his head more, trying to get things as dark and quiet as possible.

"I'm gonna head out and grab some coffee while checking up on a few contacts. You think you can handle laying there for a few hours?" Jason questioned and was answered by a long unintelligible groan from Dick.

"Great." Jason smirked, then walked out the door.

~*~*~*~Elsewhere~*~*~*~

The name Bruce Wayne sounded familiar to Ruari, but she didn't pay much mind to it and continued to have a conversation with the man.

As they neared the station Bruce said,

"Gotham is a big city. Do you think you'll be able to find your two friends on your own?"

"Well, I gotta give it a try. I don't have their phone numbers or addresses. At least one of them moves around all the time, so maybe I'll just get lucky and bump into them." Ruari shrugged. She figured that she might be able to run into Jason if she stuck near some crime ridden parts of Gotham (or at least the more crime ridden parts of Gotham since there wasn't really an un-crime ridden place in Gotham). She might be able to find Dick in cereal isles of grocery stores. In all honesty, Ruari was relying on pure luck to find them.

"Maybe I can help. I know a lot of people in Gotham. What are their names?" Bruce inquired. Just as Ruari was about to open her mouth, she noticed a man coming towards her. Big, nasty looking, and just perfect goon material.

"Ruari Eve Whelan, FBI agent Langston. You are going to come with me." he stated, quickly flashing the badge, then putting it away.

"Can I see your badge again, I'm not convinced." Ruari stated, crossing her arms. The man rolled his eyes.

"I don't have time for this, come with me."

"Show her your badge." Bruce stated, glaring at the man. The man backed up a bit then looked at Ruari.

"Creating a scene is not a wise idea." He grunted and Ruari kept her face calm.

"Then I'll see you outside the train." She stated firmly, and the man walked off to a nearby seat. Despite Ruari's calm face, she was feeling the exact opposite of calm.

_Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. _

"I'm taking it that he isn't a friend." Bruce said in a lower voice.

"He's one of the many reasons I need to hide." Ruari nodded. "And I also don't plan to meet him outside the train." She fidgeted a bit as the train stopped, at its destination, anxiety pumped through her veins.

"Follow me and stay close." Bruce stated as they stood and filed out of the train.

Bruce weaved left and right in the crowd, casually draping his jacket around Ruari. To Ruari's surprise, they ended at a limo and jumped in.

"A guest, sir?" the man driving questioned.

"Yes. Drive now Alfred." Bruce stated. His voice was calm but Ruari could hear an edge to it.

"In a hurry I see." The old man, Alfred, nodded, and the car sped off.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Wayne. You are a true life saver." Ruari sighed in relief. _A rich life saver too. I should really do a background check on random guys I decide to trust. For all I know he could be part of another mob. _

"Why was that man after you?" Bruce inquired, his sharp blue eyes boring into the woman suspiciously.

"My parents were part of some unsavory business. Now some mob boss wishes to speak to me and he killed my fiancé in the process." Ruari informed, tapering off a bit at the last part of her sentence.

_I miss Sam. _

"My condolences." Bruce whispered.

"It's okay." Ruari sighed heavily. "I just… I really need to just step back and let everything sink in when I'm safe for a few days. I need to find my friends."

"What are their names? I might know them and if not, I can help you find them." Bruce questioned, and Ruari took in a deep breath.

"Well, one is Jason Todd, but you may not know him because he likes to make himself almost unreachable, and then there's Dick Grayson. He was a police officer in Blüdhaven but he came here for some reason." Bruce stared at Ruari in shock and surprise.

"They are my sons."

"Wait. _What?_" Ruari questioned, eyes widening.

"Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. I adopted them. They are my sons." Bruce stated. Ruari stared at him, then shook her head, truly baffled.

"I am the luckiest girl alive."

~*~*~*~Elsewhere~*~*~*~

When Jason got back, Dick had fallen back to sleep on the couch. Locking the door behind him, Jason walked further into his house to where Dick was sleeping.

"Wake up, Dickie Bird." Jason stated, shaking his 'brother's' shoulder.

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." Dick groaned, burying his head deeper into the pillow.

"Wake up. I got you some coffee and a donut. Chocolate with sprinkles." Jason stated, but Dick didn't budge. "Hey, don't forget that you talked me into have a little lunch dinner thing at the manor. What? Now that you got me to agree you're just not gonna move your ass?"

"I'm up." Dick grumbled, slowly getting up and grabbing the chocolate donut and coffee.

"You look wonderful, sleeping beauty." Jason laughed.

"Yeah yeah. I get it. Sorry I'm a bit grumpy, I'm just still kinda hung over and your couch is like a rock." Dick grunted.

"Well sorry that my safe house isn't a five star hotel." Jason huffed with a small smirk, and Dick grinned back at him.

"Yeah, I'm giving it a negative two. I mean, there wasn't even any mints on the pillows." Dick stated with a small chuckle. "And don't get me started on the room service."

"So I shouldn't open a hotel, got it." Jason chuckled. "I'll just stick to killing mobsters and drug dealers."

Walking into his room, Jason started getting dressed. Dick had asked him to eat with Bruce and Alfred so Jason might be able to start amending some of the things he had done. A step in the right direction was what Dick called it. Jason wanted to call it a pain in the neck.

However, even though he wouldn't admit it out loud, Dick had a point.

So, he threw on a clean white t-shirt and one of his less beaten up leather jackets. He then found the pair of his 'nice jeans' and put on his nicer boots as well.

He stared at his reflection and sighed heavily. Jason felt fidgety and more on edge, which he hated and he paced back and forth in the room, thinking about nothing except for praying that the meal with Bruce wouldn't be terrible.

"Ready to go?" Dick inquired, popping his head inside the room. Time must had passed because Dick was dressed in a nice button down shirt and some khaki pants.

"As ready as I'll ever be, golden boy." Jason grunted and Dick looped an arm around Jason.

"Aw, cheer up Jay. It won't be too bad. This'll just be a normal dinner with awesome food served by Alfred. It'll be fine."

"Fine? With Bruce there it'll hardly be fine." Jason growled, clenching his jaw in anger. Dick noticed Jason's anger and gave him a smile.

"Just let it go." Dick grinned. "_Let it go. Let it go. Can't hold it back any more_. _Let it go! Let it go-_"

"Shut up, Dick. You can't sing for shit." Jason sighed as he walked out of the room and headed to get to Dick's car.

"You wound me." Dick pouted, placing a hand over his heart as he followed behind Jason.

"Just get in the car so we can get this damn thing over with." Jason said with defeat, and the two piled into the car.


	3. Chapter 3

Chpt.3

"So, let me get this straight. I get on a train, you sit across from me, we talk, you promise to help me, you drive me to your home, your sons are the people I'm looking for, and they are coming to eat with you in about a half hour?" Ruari questioned. She was sitting in the living room of Wayne Manor while Alfred brought out some tea.

"Sounds about right." Alfred said with a small grin.

"How do you know Dick and Jason?" Bruce inquired.

"I knew Dick because we were neighbors for a while. He helped me out a bit. I've known Jason for a long time. We're… um… friends with benefits." Ruari mumbled but Bruce had heard her. "I mean, we were until Sam came along. Well, even after Sam… yeah, I'll stop talking." Ruari sighed.

"So Sam, was he your fiancé?" Bruce inquired.

"Yeah. She was." Ruari whispered, her eyes looking at the ground sadly. Memories of Sam encroached into her head, but she quickly tried to chase them away. "Anyway, what were they like as kids? I'm dying to know. Was Dick always so happy go lucky or did he have an emo teenaged rebellious stage? And what about Jason? Any embarrassing stories about him?"

"I don't think they'd appreciate it very much if I told." Bruce smirked, but could see that Ruari was trying to not talk about her fiancé. "But, I can say that Dick went through a mullet stage."

"A mullet?" Ruari laughed. "I can hardly imagine it!" Bruce couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of how Dick looked. He wishes he could tell Ruari some funny things that Jason had done, but they were mostly suppressed memories.

After Jason died, he kept the outfit but he hated thinking about the boy. Thoughts of him was a smack in Bruce's face of how he let a strong willed young boy die while under his care. And when Jason came back? The only memories Bruce had were hardly funny or good.

This upcoming meal was going to be the first time Bruce and Jason talked without death threats or masks in years.

"Hey Bruce, is the meal ready yet?" walking down the stairs was a young man with black hair and bright blue eyes. Quickly his eyes locked with hers and he smiled apologetically.

"Sorry Bruce, I didn't know you had company over."

"It's alright. Tim, this is a friend of Dick and Jason's, Ruari Eve Whelan. Ruari, this is another one of my sons, Tim Drake." Bruce informed, and Tim moved closer to the two.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Whelan." Tim smiled, putting his hand out to shake with the girl's. Ruari chuckled a bit, honestly not being able to remember the last time when people called her Ms. Whelan so often. She shook Tim's hand firmly with a smile on her face.

"The pleasure's mine, Mr. Drake, but you can call me Ruari." She informed.

"Alright, Ruari, then please call me Tim."

"That shouldn't be too hard." Ruari grinned, then looked at Bruce. "So, any of your sons biological, or do you like adopting a lot of blue eyes black haired boys?"

"He has me." a young boy stomped into the living room with his arms crossed and an indignant look on his face. "I am Damian Wayne, the one and only biological son of Bruce Wayne, thus making me far superior to Drake."

Ruari noticed how Tim seemed to stiffen as the boy entered further into the room.

"That's quite a lengthy title." Ruari smirked. "But, I suppose I should give you my name. I am Ruari Eve Whelan, the one and only biological daughter of the Whelan crime family, thus making me far superior to other mob bosses daughters."

"Tt." Damian huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Damian, be polite." Bruce reprimanded, then turned his attention to Ruari again. "You are part of a crime family?"

"No. My parents were part of a crime family. I had and will refuse to have any doings in their business." Ruari stated firmly.

"You said they _were_ part of a crime family? Did your parents stop?" Tim inquired.

"No. They were killed. My cousin's in charge of it now." Ruari informed with a tone of bitterness in her voice. "Don't like talking about it much. You know what they say, you can choose your friends but you can't choose your family." Ruari smiled, trying to make light of her situation.

"So is it your cousin that is after you or another mob?" Bruce inquired and Ruari stiffened.

"Uh… it's… complicated. Really _really_ complicated." She sighed, running a hand through her brown curly hair.

"I'm confused. What exactly is going on?" Tim inquired, his eyebrow furrowing in concern.

_What is going on? My life is falling apart, that's what. _She thought however she couldn't say it.

"Nothing. Nothing's going on. I'm so sorry but the less you know the better. I just… I really need Jason and Dick." Ruari stated, anxiety filling her veins.

She was too out of place, too unfamiliar with her surroundings. Her breathing picked up as she felt her heart thudding in her chest. Rapidly, Ruari felt frozen with fear. She felt Bruce gently grasp her hand and saw his mouth moving, but she couldn't hear anything. That just made her panic even more, then, darkness.

Bruce looked at the now unconscious girl and sighed.

"That was a very extreme panic attack." He sighed.

"You think she's telling the truth? About not being part of the mob and everything?" Tim questioned.

"We'll just wait for Jason and Dick to get here. We'll see how well they know her." Bruce stated.

~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~

"So… Damian and Tim might also be eating with us." Dick stated as he drove, knowing that in the car would be his best shot at telling Jason instead of before they left or once they got there.

Jason would have punched Dick if he weren't driving.

"What the fuck Dick! I wanted to work with everyone slowly! Christ, this will be the worst meal ever! The little demon shit will probably try to kill me and you know how much I hate the replacement." Jason spat. Dick sighed, knowing that Jason would have this reaction.

"Tim isn't that bad and Damian can be… contained. It'll be fine and it will show everyone that you mean no harm." Dick explained and Jason grumbled under his breath but didn't reply.

They pulled up into the driveway and Dick had to drag Jason out of the car to the front door.

"Ring the doorbell." Dick stated.

"You ring the fucking door bell." Jason grunted in response, crossing his arms.

"Don't make such a fuss and make it at least look like you wanna be here. C'mon, let's see a smile." Dick stated, and Jason just shot him a glare.

"That's not a smile." Dick said as he poked Jason's face and pulled his lip into a smile. Jason quickly swatted his hand away.

"At least smile for Alfred!" Dick groaned and Jason sighed, looking tired.

"Fine. Just because it's Alfred."

Dick ended up ringing the doorbell, and was greeted by Alfred. Jason smiled a bit and Dick grinned ear to ear.

"Hey Alfred. We're not late, are we?"

"No, just in time." Alfred nodded, then looked at Jason. "It is a pleasure to see you again, Jason. It's been a long time."

"Too long, Alf." Jason grinned, gently hugging the man for a short time, then releasing him.

"Unfortunately, the meal I prepared might have to wait." Alfred stated as he, Dick, and Jason walked further into the room.

"What happened?" Dick inquired but then his eyes widened when he saw who was lying on the couch. "Ruari?"

The girl was lying on the couch and looked almost life less. Next to her on the couch was Bruce, who appeared to be keeping a vigil watch over her.

Jason swiftly was next to the girl, brushing some of her hair out of her face.

"Is she unconscious? What happened?" he questioned, then looked to Bruce. "What did you do?" he immediately was looking at Bruce accusingly.

"Jason, I didn't do anything. She had a panic attack and fainted." Bruce explained calmly.

"A panic attack? That doesn't sound like her." Jason frowned. _No. Ruari's always calm and laid back. She knows what situation she's in and how to get out of it. I don't think she's had a panic attack in her life. _Jason thought.

"From when we talked, I could gather that she is very stressed. She said she came here looking for you and Dick." Bruce explained and Jason sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"It must be serious if she's looking for us." Jason stated, looking up at Dick.

"She said that she was being chased by some mob and that they killed her fiancé." Bruce informed and both Dick and Jason's breaths caught in their throats.

"Sam? Sam's dead?" Dick questioned.

"According to Ruari, yes." Bruce nodded and Jason shook his head.

"No wonder she's so shaken up. She's not used to having lasting relationships but Sam was special. Sam meant the world to her." He sighed.

Ruari started to stir and Dick walked closer to her.

Her green eyes fluttered open and she looked at Jason then Dick, then the rest of her surroundings. The family could read how confused she was for several moments until the situation came crashing down on her.

"Jason." She whispered, then looked over at the other boy. "Dick."

"Hey, Ruari." Dick said, giving her a small smile.

"Guys… I found you. Heh." Ruari smirked a bit as she sat up. "I guess I got a little worked up. Sorry. Ummm." Ruari paused. She wanted their help but she wanted to relax for a moment. Now that she was with Jason and Dick, could she finally relax?

"We heard about what happened to Sam. We're so sorry." Dick whispered and Ruari's eyes widened, trying to rein back the memories of her fiancé.

"It's fine." she said quickly. "Anyway, Bruce told me that you went through a mullet phase. What didn't I know that about you officer?" she questioned to Dick, smiling brightly and trying to move away from the subject of her dead fiancé.

"Ruari…" Jason sighed. He knew her the best out of everyone there. He knew what that look on her face meant. "Ruari, relax. Relax and mourn. Don't just cry for a minute and finish. _Mourn_." Jason stated firmly.

Those words seemed to brake Ruari as she crumbled into Jason's arms and sobbed. He held her, tracing circles on her back to help her keep calm.

For the first time in several days, Ruari was able to relax and mourn.


	4. Chapter 4

Chpt.4

Jason refused to let go of Ruari as she wept. He didn't care how long the girl would stay in his arms. Ruari was always there for him and he would always be there for her.

Jason focused on slowly rubbing her back while he kissed her on the head. The room was silent except for her sobs and her occasional whisper of Sam's name.

Bruce, Dick, Tim, Damian, and Alfred stayed silent and still, watching the girl cry as Jason held her.

"Hey, could someone grab her some tissues?" Jason questioned, still holding onto Ruari tightly.

Bruce nodded and walked out of the room, quickly returning with a box of tissues.

"Thanks." Jason nodded as he grabbed several tissues and started to dab at Ruari's tears.

Slowly, Ruari's tears started to decrease and then they stopped all together. She looked up at Jason and sighed.

"That was stupid. I'm so-"

"Don't apologize. You have every right to cry." Jason stated firmly, then gave her a strong hug. The young woman was silent, relaxing into her old friends arms.

"Ruari, what do you need our help with?" Dick questioned slowly. He wanted to give Ruari a hug himself, but Jason looked like he would murder whoever attempted to take her from his arms.

Ruari slowly looked up, her eyes red from the tears she shed. Coughing slightly, she cleared her throat and looked up at Dick, however she had yet to move from Jason's arms.

"I need a place to lay low for a while and figure out what to do. This mob is after me." she informed slowly. "I wasn't prepared for them. I hate bothering you guys but… I really have nowhere to go."

"You could stay here." Bruce offered, but Jason frowned, his grip on Ruari tightening.

"Or she could stay with me. I'd hate to inconvenience you." He stated more harsh than he meant it to sound.

"Sounds to me like Todd doesn't want to give up his little play mate." Damian snickered and Jason shot the boy a glare.

"Jason's got a point. I don't want to inconvenience you and I also don't want to endanger your lives." Ruari stated, but didn't seem up to saying much else. All energy in her eyes seemed to be replaced with a look of exhaustion.

"Technically, here is one of the safest places in Gotham." Tim piped up.

"Nobody asked you, replacement." Jason hissed however, Bruce cleaned his throat.

"Jason, she'll be safer here with us." Bruce stated, then looked over at Ruari. "Please Ruari, stay the night. We can discuss more later, but I can promise you that you are safe here."

Ruari slowly nodded.

"Alright."

"If she's staying, then so am I." Jason stated, his grip on his friend unwavering.

"Jason…" Bruce seemed to be about to argue but Dick interrupted him.

"Bruce, you can't separate those two." Dick and Bruce looked over at Jason and Ruari to see that not only was Jason's grip on the woman was tight but Ruari's face was buried into Jason's shoulder and her fingers were balled up tightly on his shirt. "Please. Just… let them spend the night here and I'll fill you in on some things."

Bruce slowly nodded.

"Alright."

"I'll prepare a room, sir." Alfred nodded and went to do so. All the while, Ruari was hardly aware of what was going on.

All she could do was bury her face into the familiar scent of Jason and hold on. At that moment in time, he was her rock. She felt that if she were to let him go, he'd float away, just like Sam did.

Ruari felt the comforting press of lips on the top of her head and sighed a bit. Sam never kissed the top of her head. Sam kissed her nose, and cheeks, and lips, and almost everything else but the top of her head was entirely Jason. It was a small subtle thing that gave her some ease. However, she still didn't want to let him go. She didn't feel like losing anyone else.

~*~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~*~

"I didn't figure that Jason would be so close to someone else like he was with Ruari." Bruce sighed after Dick explained his first encounter with Ruari and how Ruari and Jason knew each other.

"Ruari's the only soft spot Jason has that I know of when it comes to people. From what I've heard, Ruari's helped him just as much as he's helped her." Dick stated and Damian rolled his eyes.

"Tt, she doesn't seem like she would be good for much. I figured Todd would appreciate a stronger woman, not a sniveling coward." Damian sneered, but Dick shook his head.

"Damian, she's typically not like this. She always seems comfortable with wherever she was and she also loved to be witty. She is a strong woman who has seen a lot in her life. Her mobster parents were killed, her grandmother was murdered, and now her fiancé was killed. Her family is dying all around and I don't think her sorrow about it makes her weak. If anything, it makes her human." Dick explained.

"I hate to take the conversation off of our guest, but does anyone have any guesses to what mob is looking for her?" Tim questioned and Bruce hummed.

"I will research more in the cave and see what I can find about this mob." Bruce stated as he walked towards the grandfather clock that led to the cave. He paused in his footsteps and turned to Dick.

"Does she know about the secret?"

"She knows who Jason and I are, but that's it." Dick informed. Bruce gave a curt nod, but said nothing else as he retreated to the shadows of the cave.

As the family spoke, Jason and Ruari were in the guest room that Alfred set up.

Having comforted Ruari before, Jason knew what to do. He tucked the woman in under the covers, then laid next to her on the bed, hugging her to his chest and humming softly.

"Jay, I lost her." Ruari whispered.

"Shhh I know, Ruari. I know." Jason hushed as Ruari started to shake.

"She wanted kids, Jay. She wanted a family._ I_ wanted a family. Do you know how much I would have loved a family? I was starting a new life with her." A small hiccup left her throat as tears streaked her face. "We were… we were looking at adoption agencies. I-I never thought much about being a p-parent since you know that I'm infertile, but I would be called Mama." She shook her head. "Why? Why can't I have a family? It hurts so much, Jay." Ruari babbled and Jason kissed her head while rocking her a bit in his arms.

"I know it hurts, Ruari. I know." Jason sighed.

"Will it go away? I-I just want it to go away."

"It won't. But it gets better." Jason kissed her head then ran his fingers through her hair. "You should rest, Ruari. Just relax and go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Jay?" Ruari sniffed, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

"Yeah, Ruari?" Jason inquired, wiping a tear from the woman's cheek.

"Thank you for this. I don't know what I would've done. I'm so out of it." Ruari rambled and Jason hugged her tighter and kissed her head again.

"Hey, what are friends for? You'd do the same for me." he gave her a comforting smile and Ruari started to drift to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Chpt.5

~*~*~*~Several Years Ago~*~*~*~

"Bullwhip Bob. Long time no see." Ruari smirked as she opened the door to let in her old friend. However, Jason couldn't smile at her. He grimaced, his hand over his stomach as some blood dripped through.

Ruari's eyes widened as she quickly ushered her friend into the home and brought him to the couch. With calloused hands, Ruari was gentle as she placed him onto the couch.

She moved his hand away from the wound and saw a large laceration across his stomach causing the bleeding.

"How do you want me to proceed because I am not in any way a doctor." Ruari said in an extremely calm and steady voice. However her eyes were wide with fear.

"Heh." Jason tried cracking a smile. "You look so scared. N-no worries. Just follow m-my instructions and you'll be fine."

Ruari's hands were trembling, but she quickly followed Jason's instruction and had the wound cauterized. It was a long process, but it did the trick.

"Good things you're not squeamish around blood." Jason chuckled in a low voice, still in a lot of pain.

"Yeah. Good thing." Ruari whispered, pale as a ghost as she washed her hands. Red rushed down the drain off of the Ruari's fingertips, making her stomach flip. Jason raised an eyebrow.

"You're squeamish around blood, aren't you?"

"Just a bit." Ruari sighed, a bit guilty. Someone like her really shouldn't be squeamish around blood. With her background, seeing blood should have been something natural. "But if you're bleeding out on me, I don't really have any other options." She grinned, kissing Jason on the cheek.

"You're a good friend."

"You'd do the same for me." Ruari smirked, but it was true. Despite how lighthearted and nonchalant they acted with each other, their friendship was something neither of them could afford to lose. No matter what happened, they could depend on each other no matter what. "Mind telling me how you almost got gutted or is it a sore topic?" Ruari questioned.

"You know. The typical fighting evil people thing." Jason shrugged, happy that the small talk could get his mind off of the pain.

"Ha, I should have figured." Ruari smirked, rolling her eyes. She sat on the couch with Jason and placed his hand on her lap and ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm happy you came to me. It's nice seeing you again."

"Ditto. How's the whole 'running from place to place' thing working for you?" Jason questioned, but pressed his head against Ruari hand, enjoying the petting.

"Pretty good. Haven't got caught yet, so that's cool." Ruari grinned but her face softened into a more concerned look. "You should rest. I'm not an expert on the whole being a doctor thing, but I think you sleeping would be a great idea."

"As long as you promise not to be gone when I wake up." Jason smirked and Ruari chuckled.

"Despite how tempting it is to leave, I promise I won't." Ruari kissed the man on the cheek and was about to get up and grab a blanket when Jason grabbed her and pulled her into his chest.

"Jay, I was gonna get a blanket."

"Why have a blanket when I have you as my personal warm teddy bear." Jason grinned playfully.

"Alright, but if you need a blanket, just tell me." Ruari informed as she snuggled closer to Jason, careful of his injury.

"Thanks Doctor Whelan." Jason grinned, kissing the young woman, then drifting off to sleep. It didn't take long for Ruari to fall asleep next to her friend as well.

However, several hours passed and Ruari felt Jason squirming next to her. She woke up completely and noticed Jason grimacing as he twitched. He then started groaning in what sounded like pain and Ruari realized that he was having a nightmare.

"Jason, wake up." Ruari stated, lightly touching Jason's face. Swiftly, Jason's arm flung up and he punched Ruari in the gut, but in doing so, he woke up.

"Huh? Ruari?" Jason's eyes widened in realization. "God, Ruari, I'm so sorry…"

"It's alright. You were having a bad dream." Ruari informed slowly, gently running her fingers through Jason's hair.

Jason's eyes widened as his nightmare hit him with full force as he remembered what happened. He shook slightly shaking his head.

"I should go." Jason whispered, starting to stand, however Ruari grabbed him and pulled him back down.

"You're still hurt. I can't let you up and leave while in your condition." Ruari stated firmly, but Jason shook his head.

"Ruari, please let me leave." His voice broke at the end of the sentence and Ruari realized why he was so bent on leaving.

"Hey, Jay." She whispered gently. "I've cried plenty of times in front of you and it was comforting knowing you'd be there for me. It's my turn now to be here for you."

Jason looked at her with tears in his eyes as he shook and hugged Ruari tightly, crying into her shoulder.

Not saying a word, Ruari ran her fingers through Jason's hair, hoping to sooth him. she figured that Jason wouldn't want to talk about whatever plagued his dreams because if it was enough to make him cry, it was bad. Jason wasn't the emotional sort.

As time went on, Ruari felt Jason's sobs decrease and it was replaced by steady breathing. Jason had fallen asleep against Ruari's body, and she couldn't help but smile due to how much he trusted her.

Was she expecting for Jason to come with an injury and crash on her couch? Not at all, but she certainly wasn't put out by it. If anything, having Jason around was a small blessing, reminding her that no matter where she was, she could still find a friend.

~*~*~*~Present~*~*~*~

Blinking her eyes slowly, Ruari woke up surrounded by comfortable warmth that was Jason. It had been some time since the two of them slept together, even platonically.

She couldn't help but smile a bit. Waking up to the smell and sight of Jason brought about pleasant memories of erotic mornings full of sex but also comfort.

However, the moment she thought more of it and the more awake she became, the crashing realization of how Sam was gone from her life came upon her.

Sam, the one she was planning to start a family with. The one who she promised to be with until she herself passed. Ruari never expected her time with Sam to be so quick. If anything, she thought that she would be the one to die first.

"It should have been me." Ruari whispered, which caused Jason to open his eyes.

"What you say?" he yawned.

"It should have been me. Not her." Ruari repeated quietly and Jason knew what she was talking about.

"Don't say stuff like that. I know that at times like these, you want to blame yourself, but you can't." Jason turned Ruari to face him, still lying on the bed. "It's not your fault. She wouldn't want you to blame yourself. She would want you to get better and always carry what the two of you had in your heart, alright?" Jason inquired, and Ruari slowly nodded.

"Say it, Ruari." Jason stated.

"Say what?"

"Tell me that it wasn't your fault." Jason stated and Ruari looked at him in shock. What more, she looked at him with mistrust.

"I… I can't-"

"You _can,_ Ruari. You can. Please say it. I promise you that it'll make you feel better." Jason stated. Did he really know that it would make her feel better? No, but he hoped that it would.

"It… it wasn't my f-fault."

"I don't think I heard that." Jason stated and she said louder.

"It wasn't my fault."

That was enough for Jason. He wasn't going to push Ruari to keep repeating the phrase, especially when her eyes glazed over like she was about to cry again.

Then there was a knock on the door.

"May I enter?" the voice on the other side of the door belonged to Alfred.

"You're good, Alf." Jason stated, loud enough for Alfred to hear through the door, and the older men stepped into the room.

"Good morning. Breakfast is prepared downstairs and Ms. Ruari and the rest of the family can further discuss things where we left off from yesterday." He informed.

"Thank you, Alfred." Ruari informed, flashing a smile at the butler as if she wasn't on the verge of tears only seconds earlier.

Alfred smiled back at her, then made his way out of the room. Taking a deep breath, Ruari stood to her feet and Jason was quickly next to her.

"Hey, if anyone makes you feel uncomfortable, you don't have to answer them, alright? Bruce especially can pry a lot." Jason stated and Ruari chuckled.

"Thanks Jay, but I trust you and your family. If Bruce thinks he can help, then I'll trust him. You… you and your family are the only people I'm willing to trust right now." Ruari's voice tapered off near the end of her sentence.

Jason wrapped his arms around Ruari, engulfing her in a strong hug.

"I got you, Ruari. Just like you got me." Jason whispered and Ruari didn't say anything. She just leaned into Jason's hug, letting him look after her, fully trusting him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for taking forever to update. my summer job got pretty hectic. :)**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.6

Ruari practically inhaled the food, which Jason found odd because he knew that she usually had trouble holding down a lot of food and typically ate smaller portions. That made him wonder how long it had been since Ruari actually had something to eat.

"So… Ruari. You have a price on your head?" Bruce questioned and the young woman looked up at him, surprised. The way the man had phrased it made it a statement more so than a question.

"Where did you hear that?"

"I have some resources, so I decided to look into your situation. You angered your cousin, Marco Whelan, by withholding some information. Now he's put a price on your head to bring you in alive to him. However, now some other gang families want to know why you're so important. Some want to kill you. Others want to get the information out of you for themselves." Bruce stated, while Ruari listened. "You certainly are in one big mess."

"You could say that again." Ruari sighed. "Look, you don't need to let me stay in your house. I'm dangerous to be around. They killed…" Ruari swallowed hardly, then continued, "they killed Sam. Some people want to kill me. You might get hurt too." Ruari informed slowly.

"You don't need to worry about us, Ms. Whelan. We'll protect you from this." Bruce stated in his calm but stern voice.

"But how? I just wanted some time to think, but I have absolutely no idea what to do to get myself out of this mess."

"Leave it to me. I will think of something and fix this." Bruce said as if it would be easy and Ruari's eyes widened.

"I just met you, you don't have to-" Bruce swiftly cut her off saying,

"I've never seen Jason act this way towards anyone. Jason cares about you, and a friend of Jason's is a friend of mine. I'll help you. In the meantime, I want you to stay here. My house is one of the safest places in Gotham." Ruari was shocked by how kind the man was being and how he acted like he could remedy her problem.

"If she is staying here, then so will I." Jason stated.

"I would prefer that, Jason. I was hoping that I would be able to talk to you more." Bruce stated and Jason looked at the ground. He forgot that the reason why he was going to Wayne Manor in the first place was so that they could bond more and mend some broken bridges. However, the moment Jason saw Ruari in distress, he forgot all about that.

"Mr. Wayne, I really don't want to inconvenience you-"

"Trust me, Ruari, you're not." Jason stated, resting a hand on her shoulder. "You should relax here. Let Bruce and I handle this thing. You can continue writing and-"

"Jay, I didn't come here for a place to get you to fix my problems, I came here to be safe for a moment so I can figure this out. I don't want you and your family getting hurt because of my problems. If you die-"

"We won't die." Jason stated firmly. "Look, you're in over your head and you can't get out of this alone. Please," Jason grasped Ruari's hand and gave it a small squeeze. "let us help you."

Ruari was quiet, looking down at her empty plate, then at Bruce's knuckles, looking for something to stare at while she thought. Her eyes widened for a moment as she stared, then looked up at Jason, and then at Bruce. The flash in her eyes died down as she took in a deep breath.

"Alright. Thank you." Ruari said with a long sigh. "Thank you very much."

Before Jason or Bruce could say anything, Dick bounded into the room.

"Good morning Ruari!" he smiled, hugging the young woman as tight as he could, trying to make up for all the hugs he couldn't give her the day before.

"Morning Officer." Ruari smiled at the man.

"So, did you guys discuss whether she's gonna stay or not?" Dick inquired, and Bruce nodded his head.

"Yes. She will be staying here until we fix this." The older man informed.

"Awesome." Dick grinned, and Ruari couldn't help but smile. These people… these people were amazing.

"I can go shopping for you and pick up some clothes." Jason informed, knowing that Ruari would most likely be spotted if she went. "I'll get you a laptop too so you can type."

"Y-you don't have to-"

"C'mon Ruari, you'll need some clothes and I know your size. Not to mention that when you don't write and you have ideas, your fingers start twitching." Jason smirked, pointing at her fingers that were, indeed, twitching.

"I'll pay you back." Ruari stated, not verbally acknowledging that Jason was right, but the man just chuckled.

"I won't let you." With that, he was out the door.

"You like to write?" Ruari looked up at Bruce and nodded.

"Yeah. It's kinda my living, actually." Ruari smiled a bit. "I've always been pretty good at making up fictional worlds." Before Bruce could continue to talk to her, Ruari stood to her feet. "Thank you for everything, but can I go to the room I was in this morning? I'm feeling a bit tired."

Bruce nodded.

"Of course. Whatever makes you comfortable, Ms. Whelan."

"Thank you." With that, Ruari stood from the table and walked back upstairs.

She didn't know why she was doing this. She wanted to joke around with Dick and talk more to Bruce and the others to get to know them better, but she wasn't up for it. The only thing she truly felt like doing, was to lay down on the bed that Bruce had provided. That's it. Ruari didn't want to sleep, she just wanted to lie down.

"How long do you think it'll be until she can act like herself again?" Dick inquired and Bruce sighed heavily.

"I don't know."

Meanwhile, Ruari was on the way to the room. Unfortunately, she found herself lost in the hallways that looked the same.

"Dammit." She grumbled as she walked through the halls. "Everything looks the same. Dammit." She paused in the middle of the hall. "GODDAMMIT!" she pressed her back against a wall and sunk to the floor.

She didn't cry. In all honesty, Ruari was pretty sure she cried so much the day prior that it was impossible to cry more.

So she sat in a hall with her head in her hands and shivered a bit. That was all since she felt too drained to do much else.

"Are you alright?" Ruari looked up to see Tim. He was looking at her with concern, and Ruari felt laughter bubbling up from her stomach.

"No." she giggled. Tim cocked his head to the side and slowly approached Ruari, then sat next to her.

"Why are you laughing then?" he inquired, and Ruari shrugged.

"I haven't really laughed in a while." Ruari shrugged. "It feels nice to do it again, regardless if it's because I feel so off right now."

"Off?" Tim questioned. Ruari didn't know Tim entirely well aside from the fact that he was part of the Wayne family. However, she tended to talk when people were willing to listen.

"I dunno how to explain it really. Grief. Yeah, I guess it's grief. But I never expected it to feel this way. You'd think that I would be immune to it by now. I lost my parents. I lost my grandmother. How is it that I feel like I can't go on when I lose my fiancé?"

"Maybe because you opened yourself up to loving someone like that and so it just hurts more since you never loved someone like that before." Tim suggested, and Ruari nodded her head slowly.

"Yeah. I guess so. I just… it feels empty, y'know. Like I'm just not up for anything. Hell, even though I have a billion ideas in my head I don't feel up for writing. Writing is my freaking lively hood!" she carded a hand through her hair thick hair.

It was silent for a moment, with Tim looking at Ruari in worry and Ruari shivering every so often.

"What do you write?"

"Huh?"

"Your books." Tim reiterated, smiling a small smile at her. "What do you write? Are they published?" he inquired.

Ruari could see what he was doing. He was trying to distract her and to get her mind off of everything. However, despite the fact that she had figured that out, she wasn't about to stop him.

"Yeah, I'm published. The genre ranges for each book, but a lot of them are roughly based on some misadventures I had or something I heard Jason do. Others were something I wrote for fun that just became so much more." Ruari couldn't help but smile, thinking about her stories.

"Do I get to hear the titles?" Tim questioned and Ruari chuckled.

"It's a secret. There's a reason why I have a pen name." Tim put his hand over his heart and looked mock offended.

"You're so cruel. Can I at least have your pen name if nothing else?" Tim questioned and Ruari just rolled her eyes.

"You'll recognize it."

"Please. I haven't been able to read for pleasure that often, and even when I do, the chances that I read your stuff is pretty slim." Tim chuckled. Ruari bit her lower lip, thinking it over. She hadn't told many people about her pen name and for good reasoning too.

Her fans were loyal, but also tended to get angered by her cliff hangers and the fact that her books don't have a regular schedule as to when they came out.

However, what were the chances that Tim read what she wrote. And what she was most famous for was definitely something targeted for women and girls to read.

With a sigh Ruari stated,

"Olivia Franklin."

"What?"

"Olivia Franklin. That's my pen name. Olivia is one of my favorite names. And Franklin because of my favorite historical figure." Ruari explained and Tim just stared at her. Ruari stared back, questioningly, but then realized why he was staring. He was a reader.

"Shit. I knew I shouldn't have told you." Ruari sighed.

"Oh my god. Wait. When are you coming out with your next book? You are so evil with cliff hangers, you know that? You haven't even put out a release date for the next one. Is this why I can't ever find you at conventions and book signings."

Ruari chuckled, shaking her head.

"Depending on how long I live, the next book might come out next month." She grinned.

"Please promise me that you'll finish it soon when Jason brings you a laptop." Tim stated. "I need to find out what happens to Eren and whether or not she gets with Rein."

"Yeah. I'll finish it up as soon as…" Ruari stopped for a moment. Tim was trying to get her to write. She smiled a bit. "Yeah… I'll continue writing."


	7. Chapter 7

**Woo! Hopefully i continue to regularly update. :D**

**If you haven't listened to Sara Bareilles' "Once Upon Another Time" please do. It was the song that the first story was based on and it is referenced in this chapter. it's also beautiful. :)**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.7

"Has anyone been able to locate my goddamned cousin!" Marco shouted as he threw a stack of papers across the room in his fit.

"Well… sir, the last we heard of from our resources tells us that she's in Gotham." Informed one of his men and Marco glared at him.

"Oh. Gotham. Is that all? Well, finding her should be so _easy _then." He said sarcastically. The dark haired man stood from his desk and punched the other man in the face. "Gotham is a big ass city with thousands of people in it! We are looking for one girl. One stupid girl whose specialty is hiding from people looking for her!"

Taking in a deep breath after kicking the man on the floor, Marco sat back down at his desk and took on a more brooding manner.

"Now, is there anyone that she could run to? She was getting married, right? Maybe her husband is in Gotham."

"Actually sir, another gang killed Ruari's fiancé, who was a female." Informed another man and Marco rolled his eyes.

"Yes. I forgot how disgusting Ruari could be." he let out a long sigh. "So, her bitch is out of the picture thanks to some other gang." Marco shook his head. "Alright, so get word out there that if any gang tries to kill Ruari, we'll kill them. Also, put a price on any information about Ruari. If someone finds out anything, we need to be the first to hear about it."

Marco closed his eyes and hummed a bit in thought, which all his men were used to, and none of them were about to break his concentration.

After a few bars of Singing in the Rain, Marco stopped humming and sat up in his seat with a devious smile.

"We should also hire a bounty hunter. And I know just the man."

"But sir." One of his men stated. "That is a lot of money. Is finding your cousin really this important?" Marco's eyebrows furrowed in anger.

"Were you not paying _any_ attention?! Ruari's intelligence is worth billions. She has more dirt about things than we ever will and we need her to give it to us."

"But what if she doesn't? According to some of our recourses, she doesn't respond well to torture." The other man stated. Marco chuckled darkly, shaking his head.

"I know my cousin better than most people. There are ways other than torture that will make her talk. Now, if you excuse me, I have a man to call."

~*~*~*~At Wayne Manor~*~*~*~

"So why'd you kill Opal?" Tim inquired and Ruari sighed. Ever since she admitted her pen name to Tim, he had been asking questions about the books she wrote.

"Because it was important to the plot and because I could so, yeah." Ruari shrugged.

"But she was one of my favorite characters." Tim pouted and Ruari just laughed.

"You know that you aren't the first one to complain about this to me."

The two of them were in the living room of the manor. Ruari was sitting on the ground since the couch was just too soft for her, and she was making origami turtles. Why turtles and nothing else, she never really knew, but she had been doing it since she was little and it was something to help relax her.

Meanwhile Tim was on the couch with one of her books, questioning things about it to her.

"Is Eren really asexual? Because part of me wants her to really get with Rein, but she seems so scared of her feelings that…" Tim trailed off as the words died on his lips.

Ruari was finishing up about her twentieth turtle and looked up at Tim to see why he stopped talking.

Tim was staring at someone in the doorway and when Ruari followed his gaze, she smiled. Jason was back.

However Jason wasn't smiling as he looked at Tim, and it was obvious that Tim wasn't smiling back as every muscle in his body seemed to tense.

Ruari could practically feel the tension emanating off of the two.

"Jason." Ruari smiled at the man, breaking him out of his intense stare off with Tim. "I made some origami turtles. Do you think we can draw some masks onto their faces and make them our own ninja turtles. Except give 'em different names like Pablo and Frieda and Georgia and Andy and Vincent."

Jason chuckled a bit.

"Sounds like fun." He nodded, approaching them, and Tim quickly stood from the couch.

"I should leave you two to do that." Tim said quickly.

"There's no need for you to leave, Tim. I have, like, twenty turtles. There's plenty to go around." Tim looked from her to Jason, then shook his head.

"No. I'm good. I actually have some things to do. But I'll talk to you later." With that, he nearly ran out of the room.

Ruari looked over at Jason, who was smirking a bit.

"What did you do to scare him so bad?" she inquired and Jason just shrugged.

"Timmy and I have never been much on good terms."

"And why is that." Ruari pried.

"Well, it's a long story, but I suppose that the shorten version is that I was a bit upset because he kinda replaced me doing this thing, so I was angry at him and I may or may not have tried to kill him several times." Jason informed, his voice calm as if him trying to kill his brother was nothing new, and Ruari's eyes widened.

"You tried to kill him!"

"I said may or may not have. Besides. It's different now. I wouldn't hurt him too badly." Jason smiled and Ruari gave him an unamused look.

"Does Tim know that?"

"He doesn't have to. I'm perfectly content with him being afraid of me." Jason smirked and Ruari rolled her eyes.

"You can be such an ass."

"Excuse me. I bought you some clothes and a laptop, all of which are in the guest room you're staying in. Not to mention that I also got you a few special things too. Are those ass-like qualities?" he questioned and Ruari sighed, but couldn't help smiling at him.

"No. You don't act like an ass to me. You just act like an ass to a lot of other people." She mumbled and Jason wrapped an arm around her, dragging her closer to him in a half hug. Ruari never told Jason this because she figured he already knew, but she loved it when he would give her a half hug. It was just so comforting and easy, not to mention that Jason was like a bear so when she would lean against him, it felt like leaning against a slightly pudgy here or there but well-muscled wall.

"Which is why you should be happy that I consider you a friend." He smiled, ruffling her hair, but then looked at her more seriously.

"How are you feeling?"

"A bit… better. I mean, a while ago I wasn't feeling too well, but Tim really helped out." Ruari informed slowly, looking at the ground.

"He helped out, huh?" Jason questioned. He didn't sound angry, just genuinely curious.

"Yeah. He just talked to me and got my mind off of things. It was nice." Ruari informed with a small smile playing on her lips.

Jason nodded his head, then looked down at the paper turtles and the various colored markers out on the coffee table.

"Alrighty, well these ninja turtles aren't gonna name and color themselves." He grinned, and Ruari laughed.

"Maybe you can give the Georgia O'Keeffe turtle a skull mask. I feel like that would be pretty cool." Ruari smiled.

"Yeah, and the Pablo Picasso one could be in a screaming pose."

The two of them laughed as the drew on the paper turtles.

~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~

Tim was in his room, typing away at his computer and hacking into various things. You wouldn't know if they were important things or just things to hack into for fun, but whichever it was, Tim seemed fairly content doing it.

There was a knock on Tim's door and the teen absentmindedly stated,

"come in."

He looked up from the computer, expecting Dick, since the man loved to drop in and joke around, but to his surprise and horror, Jason was standing in the doorway.

"Jason." He whispered and the man nodded.

"Replacement." He said calmly.

"Where's Ruari?" Tim inquired, slowly standing from his seat at the computer. He hadn't expected Jason to leave the young woman's side.

"She's in her room sleeping. She dozed off when we were drawling on the turtles." He shrugged as if what just happened was an everyday occurrence. "She also told me that you helped her out."

Tim stared at Jason, waiting for an insult or a drop kick, but when all Jason did was look at him, waiting for an answer, Tim nodded.

"Yeah, I just tried to get her mind off things. She was really distraught about everything." Tim informed. "I found her sitting in the hallway with her head in her hands. I mean, she wasn't crying, but she looked so hurt." Jason frowned at the statement.

"Yeah, this entire thing hit her pretty hard." Jason let out a sigh. "Anyway, I wanted to say thanks for helping her."

Tim stared at the man in disbelief.

"What?" he questioned, pretty sure that he just misheard what Jason said.

"Thanks for helping her when she needed it." Jason stated again. Tim stared at the man for a moment, then said,

"Let me get this straight. You, the man who has tried to kill me on multiple occasions, is thanking me for helping out someone?"

"Jesus, you act like I don't have a grateful bone in my body." Jason grunted. "Look. Ruari's important to me, and I just want to thank you for taking care of her for a bit."

Tim was still surprised from the statement of thanks.

"What is it about this woman that can actually make you act like a human being?" he questioned and Jason crossed his arms over his chest.

"Listen baby bird, I've always been human. I'm just trying to change my attitude a bit. It has nothing to do with her." Jason stated as he made his way out of the room, but then stopped before closing the door.

"By the way, I am not an ass to you. I've been way nicer and if I wanted you dead now, you'd be dead, so stop freaking out when we're in the same room together." With that, Jason was off, leaving Tim confused.

This was the first Jason had actually talked to him without trying to either murder him, harm him, or threaten him.

Tim honestly didn't know what to make of it.

~*~*~*~All the while in Ruari's Room~*~*~*~

Ruari woke up in the bed in the guest room, and she was confused at first, but then remembered dozing off while making turtles.

_Jason must've brought me here. _She thought, smiling fondly at the thought of the man.

Sitting up from the bed, she looked over at the pile of bags that Jason bought her.

_Guess I should start putting some of this stuff away. _She thought. She honestly wasn't completely used to staying in one place for long.

She would unpack some things but other things would stay in suitcases and sometimes she lived out of the suitcase, rummaging through it for clothing or other items and not bothering to unpack the rest.

She had just started to unpack more when she was living with Sam. However, even when Sam was killed, she still wasn't completely unpacked.

Reaching into one bag, Ruari's fingertips brushed against something rough and leather, and she pulled out a leather jacket. she chuckled a bit at the jacket. Jason didn't go out and buy it, this was one of his, meaning that it was huge on her. However, Jason had made a habit out of giving her his jacket every time he visited her. It made Ruari smile.

She then found some t-shirt and jeans, along with several warmer jackets since winter was right around the corner, and a sweatshirt that said 'SHIPSBURG' across it.

Ruari chuckled, running her finger over the stitched wording. Shipburg was the college that Ruari had intended on going to before her life became hectic and college wasn't much of an option.

Jason really did know her too well.

Yet, she wasn't worried about how well he knew her. Because despite the fact that he knew her inside and out, she was the exact same with him.

Packing away the clothes, Ruari then came across a laptop and smiled. It was a Toshiba with windows and a good writing program, which was all she needed.

She packed away some shoes that Jason had bought her, which were sneakers, black boots, and cowgirl boots (her personal favorite).

That should have been it, since that was all she really needed. Clothing and a laptop.

However, there were several more bags.

One of them Ruari found was a bag of the candy Cow Tales. An entire bag.

_Does Jason want my teeth to rot? _She wondered, but still chuckled at the memories the candy held.

Ruari remembered how Jason made fun of her for it being her favorite candy, but once he tried one, he immediately apologized.

Another bag had several of her favorite books, new and old. _The Outsiders, Harry Potter, Clockwork Angel, Catcher in the Rye_, and more.

A smaller bag held an assortment of lacey underwear, which Ruari just rolled her eyes at (despite the fact that she was going to wear them).

And the last bag held several cds and a small radio.

Ruari found herself blindly taking out a cd and putting it into the radio to play it. With one hit of a button, the music started playing.

_"__Once upon another time_

_Somebody's hands who felt like mine_

_Turned the key and took a drive_

_Was free_

_Highway curve, the sun sank low_

_Buckley on the radio_

_Cigarette was burning slow_

_So breathe_

_Just yellow lines and tire marks_

_And sun-kissed skin and handle bars_

_And where I stood was where I was to be_

_No enemies to call my own_

_No porch light on to pull me home_

_And where I was is beautiful_

_Because I was free."_

Ruari listened and trembled a bit. The song hit home pretty hard, and she wanted to punch Jason for picking music that would make her feel so raw. However, the music felt therapeutic. Almost like it was what she needed.

"Thanks Jay." Ruari whispered smiling at everything. "I don't know what I did in a past life to become so lucky and so fortunate, but I am entirely grateful."

_"Once upon another time_

_Before I knew which life was mine_

_Before I left the child behind me_

_I saw myself in summer nights_

_And stars lit up like candle light_

_I make my wish but mostly I believed..._

_In yellow lines and tire marks_

_Sun-kissed skin and handle bars_

_And where I stood was where I was to be_

_Once upon another time_

_Decided nothing good in dying_

_So I would just keep on driving_

_Because I was free."_


	8. Chapter 8

Chpt.8

"I'm happy that we're on negotiable terms, Mr. Deathstroke." Marco smiled and the figure dressed in orange and black nodded.

"As long as I get paid, then you won't find any trouble from me. Now, who do you want me to kill?" Marco rocked a bit on his feet.

"Well, you see, it's not that I want you to kill someone for me. I actually want you to bring someone to me alive."

"Kidnapping? And you want this person alive when I bring them to you?" Deathstroke inquired, and Marco shrugged,

"If you rough her up a bit, I don't care. She just needs to be breathing and able to talk." Deathstroke was quiet for several moments.

"It'll be extra since this is something different from normal." Deathstroke stated in his rough voice, breaking the silence.

"Of course. I will pay you all you want. I just need you to do your part."

"Will do. What's the target's name and where was she last spotted?" the man inquired, and Marco was happy to provide him with the information if it meant finding her.

"Ruari Eve Whelan. She was last spotted in Gotham."

"Do you have a picture?" the assassin questioned, and Marco reached into his breast pocket to reveal a picture of him and Ruari when they were younger.

"This is the only decent picture I have." Marco informed as he pointed to the younger girl in the picture. "She looks like this, just a few years older."

Deathstroke gave the picture a hard look. The people in the picture looked to be ten years old at oldest. Marco was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, along with Ruari in the picture. They both were smiling at the camera and had ice cream cones in their hands. It looked like they were close.

"Child hood sweet heart?" he questioned.

"Cousin." Marco corrected.

"I see. So you want me to force a family reunion. Heh, sounds easy enough." Deathstroke chuckled as he placed the picture on the desk and started walking towards the exit.

"Mr. Deathstroke." Marco stated, causing the man to turn around and look back at his employer. "My cousin is very good and making herself disappear. Please don't underestimate her."

"Will do." With that, Deathstroke, a.k.a Slade Wilson, was out the door, ready to find Marco's elusive cousin.

~*~*~*~Elsewhere~*~*~*~

Ruari woke up to a dog licking at her face. Blinking her eyes open and giggling, Ruari pat the tall black dog on the head, all the while clutching the jacket Jason had given her to her chest.

"I didn't know the Wayne family had a dog." She said out loud in a conversational tone, looking at the dog. "What's your name?" Ruari looked at the collar around the dog's neck.

"Titus. What a strong name." she grinned and the dog's ears perked up at his name. "My name's Ruari. It's not as cool, but I still like it. It's an Irish name, you know that? Also, it's a boy's name, which is pretty funny. I'm pretty sure that my parents _really _wanted a boy." She shook her head. "Hell, they didn't care, my dad still treated me like the son he never had."

The dog sat calmly, as if he were listening and understanding what she said.

"They let me decide what I wanted too. Did I want a haircut. What kind of haircut did I want. What clothes did I want. What toys did I want. All of it was up to me, and they didn't care if I wanted to dress like a boy one day and a girl the next." Ruari let out a long sigh.

"They were good parents. Wonderful, even. It's just… I dunno. They were criminals. Wonderful, caring parents who were criminals." The young woman then frowned. "And then when they are killed on the job, all their problems become mine, and then good people die."

Titus licked her cheek and Ruari smiled a bit.

"You're a good boy, aren't you? Sitting here and listening to me complain." Ruari chuckled as she sat up in the bed. "Do you want a treat. I'm sure Alfred has something for you." The dog wagged its tail and Ruari rolled out of the bed and hid Jason's leather jacket under the pillow.

Jason would have a shit eating grin on his face for month if he knew that simply sleeping with an article of his clothing made her comfortable, and not to mention she didn't want any other members of the Wayne family finding out either.

She shucked off some old t-shirt that she used as a night shirt, and threw on one of the t-shirts Jason had bought her along with a pair of jeans.

Looking in the mirror, Ruari froze. It had been some time since she had looked at herself. Her hair was a mess with brown curls sticking out in every which way. Her eyes were so… different then what she remembered. Yes, they were their same green color, except something was off.

Even when she was running away from Gustav, she still had a brightness in her eyes. As if they were smiling, if eyes could smile. However, her eyes looked so sullen now.

Not only that but her tan skin looked a bit pale.

"Wow Titus." She whispered. "Don't I look like a piece of shit." Taking in a deep breath, Ruari tied her wild hair back into a messy bun and perk up as best as she could.

Walking barefoot out of the room, Ruari attempted to find her way to the kitchen to see if she could get the dog a treat.

Miraculously, she made it to the kitchen, and calmly cracking some eggs was Alfred.

"Oh, good morning Miss Whelan. You certainly are up early." Alfred said while glancing over at the clock that read: 5:12.

"Titus here woke me up. Do you have any treats to give him?" Ruari inquired and Alfred chuckled.

"You can give him some bacon." Alfred informed, handing Ruari over some freshly cooked bacon, and Ruari fed it to the dog.

"Thank you, Mr. Alfred." she grinned.

"I'm surprise that Titus woke you up. He is usually glued to Master Damian's side." Alfred informed, and Ruari questioned,

"Damian's?" She hadn't seen the boy much and also didn't know a lot about him, other than that he spoke using a large vocabulary for someone his age, and the fact that she got the feeling he and Tim didn't get along.

"Why yes. Titus is Damian's dog." Alfred nodded.

"I suppose that's why the dog's name is Titus." She murmured, noting the powerful name of the dog.

Just then Damian came bursting into the room.

"Pennyworth, have you seen Titus, he-" Damian's eyes went from Alfred to Titus to Ruari.

"Sorry to scare you like that." Ruari said lightheartedly. "He woke me up. I guess he smelled the bacon Mr. Alfred was cooking and knew I'd give him a piece if he pouted."

Damian eyed Ruari suspiciously while Titus pawed over to Damian, looking cheerful as ever.

"I see." He mumbled, then walked off with the dog by his side.

"Why do I get the feeling that he doesn't like me too much." Ruari sighed and Alfred just gave a short chuckle.

"Master Damian tends to live by a motto of 'Guilty until proven innocent' in life. Even then he can still be disagreeable at times." Alfred informed.

"Huh. Interesting." Ruari nodded, thinking back to when she stared at Bruce's knuckles the day before when she was thinking about staying. However, she pushed the thought away.

"Anyway, is there something I can do to help with anything, Mr. Alfred?" she inquired.

"Well, this my go quicker with someone to dice the tomatoes." Alfred informed and Ruari grinned.

"Cutting tomatoes is my specialty."

~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~

Cutting tomatoes was not Ruari's specialty. Sure, she could cut them, but not without making a mess and getting seeds everywhere.

However, the food was prepared and finished, and just as Alfred announced so, Bruce strode into the room in a nice business suit and tie.

"Good morning Alfred." he grinned, then looked at Ruari. "And good morning, Ruari. You're up early." Ruari shrugged. Her sleeping patterns were irregular. She enjoyed waking up early, but there were times where she would stay up all night just to finish a chapter in a story, causing her to wake up mid-day.

"I had a furry wake up call." She smiled, but wanted to leave. She couldn't help but feel like she was being interrogated by Bruce even when he was just talking to her casually. Even though Ruari figured that she knew why, she still didn't like it when people knew a lot about her. "I gotta go check on something, but good luck at work today, Mr. Wayne." She smiled, and shot out of the room.

"Thank you." Bruce called afterwards, then she was gone.

Ruari ended up back in her room. Or at least the room she would be staying in. Labeling things like rooms as hers wasn't a good idea in her mind. It was less to get attached to when she would have to leave.

Because she knew that she would have to leave at one point. She couldn't stay cooped up in the mansion forever, and yes, it was nice, but it was far from what she would call a 'comfortable house.'

If anything she felt like it could be haunted, which was something she didn't want to think about due to her already present paranoia and her wild superstitions.

Ruari looked over at the bed, and straightened it up. If this were a room she had bought, she would have left the bed unmade, however Ruari was in somebody's home. And when in somebody's home, she figured that she should be respectful and keep things as tidy as possible.

She felt bored. Yes, she figured that she could write on her laptop, but not only did she feel bored, but she felt restless. Walking out of the room, Ruari decided to explore the manor.

Meandering around, Ruari came across a large picture with a man, a woman, and a young boy all posed happily together. The picture was fairly large and looked like it was painted.

Ruari hummed, staring at the picture. The young boy looked familiar.

"That is father and my paternal grandmother and grandfather." A voice spoke, and Ruari jumped, startled by the voice.

_This place really is haunted. _She thought, but was relieved when she turned around and saw Damian.

"Sorry Damian, I didn't hear you walk in. You startled me." Ruari informed with a nervous chuckle.

"I figured considering your alarmed appearance." Damian informed haughtily. "Anyway, I noticed you were staring at the picture, so I thought I should tell you who it was of."

"Well… thank you. So, the little boy is Bruce?" Ruari questioned.

"Yes, that is father." Damian nodded.

"You look like him." Ruari smiled and Damian rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Well of course I do. I'm his son."

"That doesn't mean you would automatically look like him." Ruari stated. "Most men I know look like their mothers. Girls usually look like their fathers. I am an example of that. Though I have some features of my mother, a great deal of me looks like my father."

"I see." Damian murmured, slowly nodding. "I'm grateful to look like my father."

"I would be if I were you too. He's very handsome." Ruari grinned.

"Are you proud that you look like your father?" Damian inquired and Ruari sighed.

"From a genetic standpoint, I suppose I am. My father was fairly handsome with nice hair and body type, so I don't look too bad myself. But… emotionally I'm not sure. I loved them, but I really wish some days that I didn't look like either of them." She informed, and Damian nodded slowly.

"I can empathize with that." he stated. Ruari looked over at the boy, and realized how old he looked. Granted he was probably around twelve years old, but the way he spoke, held himself, and even when you looked into his eyes, he seemed like someone in their adulthood.

"Sorry, this topic just got a bit depressing." Ruari forced out a giggle. "Anyway, I was just walking around to familiarize myself with this place."

"I can give you a tour, but mind you, I am not the best of guides."

"I'd be happy to have your assistance." Ruari smiled, and Damian nodded, having her follow him throughout the mansion as he explained different rooms and pictures.

~*~*~*~Elsewhere~*~*~*~

Knocking softly on the bedroom door, then creaking it open slowly, Jason poke his head into Ruari's room, expecting to see her asleep.

However, he was surprised to see that the girl was nowhere in sight and he saw a fairly well made bed.

He noted that the pillow was a bit messed up, but after further inspection, Jason found his jacket underneath it, making him grin.

"Knew you'd like the jacket." He murmured. He then went downstairs, expecting that Ruari had maybe started to eat breakfast.

However, all he saw was Bruce and Alfred.

"Good morning, Jason." Bruce nodded and Jason stiffened.

This was so strange. So alarming. It was as if he was put in a time machine and sent back to when he was a boy. When Bruce would smile at him, saying a 'good morning' then offering him some bacon he didn't want while Alfred wasn't looking and it hurt.

It hurt Jason so much to see this all playing out years later.

"Morning, B." Jason nodded, forcing out the sentence. He had yet to really start mending the bridges he burned making the situation fairly awkward.

Thank god for Alfred.

"Good Morning Master Jason. Do you want an omelet? Miss Whelan helped me with cutting the tomatoes as best she could." Alfred informed.

"Actually, I was looking for Ruari. Have you seen her around?" Jason inquired.

"She told us she was heading to her room." Bruce stated, and Jason frowned, knowing that meant that he had just missed her.

"Alright, thanks for telling me." he sighed, and started to head out of the room, when Bruce stopped him.

"Jason. She's mourning." Bruce stated, a warning tone is his voice. Jason knew Bruce well enough that that tone meant not to bother something.

"Yeah, no shit." Jason snapped and Alfred shot him a pointed look. "Sorry Alf." Jason added.

"I'm just saying that maybe you should just let her come to you instead of you seeking out her." Bruce informed.

"You don't know Ruari like I do. She shouldn't be left alone when she's sad. She gets broody and self-hating and depressed. I'm not saying that I need to be at her side, but at least someone has to, if she is to get through this." Jason explained and to his surprise, Bruce grinned at him.

"Then best of luck finding her." With that, Jason ran back upstairs in search of Ruari.

"Jason has matured quite a bit, hasn't he." Alfred hummed.

"Yes he has, Alfred." Bruce smiled, thinking about how Jason was before the boy had died.

The boy that was so full of joy. However, when Jason was upset, he would get broody, self-hating, and depressed.

_The fact that he is someone's rock during a hard time in their life is a sure sign of how much Jason's matured._ Bruce thought, then continued to finish eating his breakfast.


End file.
